


Mother!

by Mizudoriko



Category: Naruto
Genre: "Hugged"(squished) people, A lot of Pranks, Bijuu are awesome, Chuunin exams end up a disaster, Crackish/with some serious moments, Gaara does have friends this time, Gaara is an adorable child, Naruto is upset that the Talk no Jutsu has little to no effect, No Romance, Not Canon Compliant, OC, Oh and another OC, Pranks, Rasa bashing, Rasa just doesn't compute, Reincarnation/Sort of-not really, Sand Siblings-centric, Shukaku is a troll, Shukaku is also sane-sort of, Suna doesn't know what to do, Supernatural Elements, The rest of the bijuu are upset and unamused, Yashamaru needs to stop fainting, everyone hates Rasa, horrible singing, hugs for everyone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-06 19:30:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12824484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mizudoriko/pseuds/Mizudoriko
Summary: Karura had no reservations about sacrificing herself for her youngest son, giving him the "ultimate protection". Too bad that the power of a mother's love really belongs in the Potterverse instead of Suna. And whose great idea was that a sociopathic and very much dead teen would be the perfect guardian to a demon container with an unstable Bijuu? It's all the gods' fault really, they should have known better. Like seriously, what did they expect? Oh and Suna might get destroyed, but that is the least of everyone's worries since they're all trying to do something about the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Shukaku however, is happily laughing in his corner.





	1. What do you mean I'm dead?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any referenced works but I do own the idea plus my writing
> 
> This story is also posted on Fanfiction.net by me, though there are some differences since I've edited the original and am now posting it here.

It is a dark and stormy day.

No really, what did you expect Halloween to be like? Of course it is cliche.

The clouds hang in front of the moon like a curtain and rain pours down from the sky. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the sky was mourning. Lightning flashes in the distance, illuminating the silhouette of trees like twisted monstrosities of hands, grasping for the sky. The ground is wet, slippery and dyed red like blood by the flashing lights of an ambulance.

On that cheery note, perhaps I should mention that I hate the rain?

No?

The sirens of many police cars are screaming, rending the air with their cries.

So did many people.

All of the noise makes my head hurt, but it's not as if I have the ability to do anything about it at the moment.

It hurts to move, and it hurts to talk. The only way to get people to shut up is to shout, and that is worse than talking. There is also nothing I can do about the sirens, they are screaming because of me after all.

Soon, blood actually pollutes the water, spreading like a plague through the clear liquid. I personally think it quite a beautiful sight, like when you drop red food coloring into a glass, the dye exploding in a vicious cloud of red. It seems that no one else shares my views on the matter since many of them are running around like headless chickens. It's like they've never seen someone get stabbed before. There is usually a copious amount of blood involved when that happens, like right now there's a lot of it on the hard asphalt of a road, the black stones glittering with rain and blood mixed together. Like I said earlier, it's very pretty. My sentiment on the matter is not shared, a pity really.

Everything sounds seriously cliche and boring. It isn’t as if we all haven’t heard some sort of story like this before.

The main character gets stabbed and dies a horrible, painful, and drawn out death described in vivid gory detail.

Honestly, there must be some higher being that’s finding enjoyment in this.

Things like this don’t just _happen_ to people.

Yet here I lie on the ground, sprawled unbecomingly on the grass of some poor person’s lawn, no doubt they are one of the many people screaming right now. My eyes are half open, and I have already lost control of my limbs due to blood loss, so giving the finger to the sky at some deity is out of question. Not to mention that it would bring my sanity into serious questioning, though the excuse of being delirious due to blood loss might work.

Every breath I take comes with sharp stabbing pain from my left chest area, I'm not sure exactly where because examining it would take strength I don't have. Sharp stabbing pain, well that’s rich, I literally got stabbed and I’m experiencing _stabbing pain._ Yes, puns, they make the world go ‘round these days.

I hear someone talking to me, trying to reassure me that I am perfectly alright as hands grasp my body checking my vitals.

I am not alright people

No one is alright when they've just been  _stabbed._

'One doesn’t simply' survive being stabbed through the heart.

Lord of the Rings memes are awesome. Period.

Ok, I’ve gotten that out of my system now, along with the puns.

Since people don't generally survive, I've pretty much already accepted my fate, it had been decided as soon as the knife pierced me. I’m not in a panic, I’m fine as I am. Really, I am absolutely fine, well, as fine as a person can be after being stabbed in a very important organ that is vital for functioning. Which isn’t very fine at all when all things are considered.

Honestly.

Am I sorry?

No, not really, I haven't done anything to be sorry for.

So I'm still here, my mind crystal clear and working overtime trying to deny what is happening to me at the moment.

Well, actually, I had been just walking across the street with my group of friends. The excitement was high, or maybe it was the sugar, my eyes were probaby sparkling with unholy glee. We all had pillowcases full of candy and we're going back to our homes. All in all, it had been a perfect night of trick or treating.

It was also pretty late.

But this is my first time celebrating Halloween since I'm not from the US and I wanted to stay out as long as possible.

Because  _candy_ is a wonderful motivator.

My friends and I all dressed up as some random anime characters from this new popular anime that just came out. We’d planned all of our costumes accordingly and spent weeks on them. Mine is composed of a long white kimono and blood red hair. Since my hair is actually a light brown, I had to dye it the shade of red I wanted, and it came out a pretty well, even if the shade still ended up a little too dark. Semantics, no one would care anyway. So when the time came, our parents drove us to one of the neighborhoods and dropped us off there, telling us to be careful.

Be careful, funny how that turned out with me being stabbed through the heart by some random person in front of my horrified friends. One of them screamed, and people started running away into houses yelling. Someone called the police and ambulance, they had sounded hysterical, I don’t blame them for it though. If I were in their place I’d be hysterical too. Actually, that doesn't sound like something I'd be at all, I'd be in shock and disturbingly calm about everything until it finally registers.

Luckily for me, whoever did the deed wasn’t a professional, only a small part of my heart was damaged from what I can tell. My lung, however, was another story. I could live with one lung though, a heart is kinda necessary for my continued survival. One thing I can’t live with, however, is that they ruined my costume! I had put so much work into it too! Now it’s stained with blood and I probably wouldn’t ever get it out. Good thing I won’t have to live with it much longer, I’ll probably die in the next few minutes. But hey, no matter how cliche my death is, it still is pretty cool, right?

It's really too bad the bleeding couldn’t be stopped.

Oh who am I kidding, inner me is squealing at how cool I must look.

People tried, they really did.

But nothing worked.

The ambulances can’t arrive fast enough, the police are there to ensure that the panic that ensues wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

But I’m still dying.

From blood loss if nothing else because I am no professional when it comes to these things.

And it hurts like hell.

It’s funny how in the last moments if your life that you start thinking clearly and contemplating your last few precious moments of remaining life.

I, for one, am annoyed with my predicament.

Like really, I go and try to have fun with my friends this one night of the entire year only to get stabbed by some crazy person. And now I’m dying?! Someone tell me that this is just a horrible cliche horror movie with the “strong” female protagonist nearly dying and then surviving. But no, some entity from on high has it for me, I’m not cheating death today or anytime soon.

So yes, I am just going to lie here with my lifeblood flowing out of me while I reflect upon my thoroughly messed up life and how I can't decide between the "this is so cool!" and the "why is this so cliche" mentality

Cheerful thoughts indeed for someone at death's door.

Why am I still alive?

This hurts goddamnit!

Oh, wasn't that disorienting...hello black spots of doom!

The blood loss must be getting to my head, I think I'm delirious, nah I'm just thinking that because my vision is blacking out. Totally not delirious.

* * *

 

_“...”_

“This must be a joke.”

_“...”_

“A joke I tell you!!!

_“...”_

“Oh, come ON!”

_“...”_

“Fine, be that way all-encompassing-darkness-that-apparently-is-supposed-to-be-the afterlife!”

_“...”_

“And now I am talking to myself, a sure sign of insanity and I’ve been here for like how long? Less than a minute? But I've always been a little unhinged, so does this truly mean the boredom is affecting me?”

_“...”_

“If this is the afterlife I demand a refund, after dying like that surely I deserve something better than whatever this is.”

_“...”_

“Am I going to be stuck here narrating everything that is happening to me? Because the narration would compose of absolutely nothing with how devoid of entertainment this place is.”

And then, from somewhere far, far away I suddenly hear…

_“Please...let me see my child’s face…?”_

“Errr...sure mystery lady? I hope you are not insane too. And how about getting a medic to check up on you? You sound pretty sick.”

_“He’s...so...tiny”_

“Ummm...I am living under the assumption that all children are tiny. So unless he belongs to a race of giants or something, he’s obviously tiny.”

_“Please, whatever god may be listening, protect my son…”_

“ I’m no god, but sure lady, whoever this child is anyway...So can I see now? Because I can hear you and I don’t like being ignored. I just had a traumatic experience of being stabbed to death.”

_“...”_

“I take that as a no. No points for dying a gruesome death, would giving you all my Halloween candy count for anything?”

_“...”_

“ I guess not that either, really who doesn’t want candy?”

_“Lady Karura’s heart rate is dropping!”_

“Are they talking about me? ‘Cuz I’m pretty sure my heart has stopped a while ago, and who is this Lady Karura anyway?”

_“Do something, quick!”_

“ Hello people? Am I officially dead or alive? Doing anything, quick or otherwise won’t work, unless I’m in a coma and this is one of those moments that coma patients can hear what is going on around them.”

_“No..no..nononoNO!”_

“ De Nile isn’t just a river in Egypt you know…”

_“Why?!”_

“Hmmm? Well, there is also this thing called denial. It would seem that you’ve built a hut firmly on the other side of it. Not a mansion, you haven’t gotten there yet, so it is just a hut. You should be proud. And I'll have you know that it floods every single year, so you'll have to rebuild that hut of yours.”

_“Why did it have to be her?”_

“Equivalent exchange mortals! Fullmetal Alchemist is making a comeback! Wait what do you mean about ‘why did it have to be her’? Although Fullmetal Alchemist is good too, just not so much when you’ve tried to bring someone back via Alchemy.”

_“Lady Chiyo, please leave us, and take that child with you too.”_

“Chiyo? Karura? What? Why is this familiar? Eyes! I command you to open!”

Oh, it actually worked. I should have done this earlier…

Meh, it doesn’t matter too much, I can SEE now.

I looked at my surroundings for a bit, this was not where I died. Sand everywhere, sand over there, and oh, sand over there too!! Basically, it’s very sandy and boring with a bunch of hospital equipment. Did I survive? Why am I in a sandy hospital building, it really isn’t a good place for injured people. Standards obviously need to be upped, and this place is also really cramped.

Then I looked at myself.

Oh. My. Lord. What. Has. Happened. To. Me.

Silly me, I don't  _have_ a lord, unless it is the Dark Lord because heck yeah!

I am still in the long white kimono, and my dyed hair is in the hairstyle I put it up in, if a bit messy from the whole dying ordeal. My chest had a red patch over it, upon further inspection, I find that the stab wound is still there. The scarf I am wearing is free of blood, so I rearrange it a bit to cover the spot.

I come to the conclusion that I am still very much dead.

Though having translucent limbs may have convinced me of that fact.

So the undead is out, no zombies, vampires, or inferi.

I’m a ghost?

Ooh, can I float things? Can I, can I?

On a more serious note, I believe I know where I have ended up. The Narutoverse. In Suna. It doesn’t really take a genius to figure it out, the copious amounts of sand, the Yondaime Kazekage Rasa, Chiyo-Sasori’s grandmother, and the hitai ate along with people decked out in full shinobi gear. Either this is really good cosplay, or it is a reality.

Normal people would be at emotional extremes right now.

They’d have died, woken up in an unfamiliar place, and figured out that they are still dead.

Lucky for me, I’m not a normal person.

I’ve also watched the entirety of the anime version of Naruto, read too many fanfictions, and surfed the internet for interesting Naruto facts. So, it really isn’t surprising that I have a sense of deja vu as I watch Rasa weep over his dead wife’s body with Chiyo trying to comfort him. I find some satisfaction in his pain since I've never liked that guy, even with the excuse that it was all for the village, he did some pretty terrible things. Karura probably wants to strangle him for all that he’s done to her children.

Karura’s dead.

She died when Gaara was born.

Conclusion, Gaara has just been born.

I look around the room a bit more, my eyes finally rested upon the too small child that was being held in some random medic-nin’s arms. I move closer to inspect the newborn Gaara…

Oh dear…

It would seem that I have made a new discovery.

No baby should be that adorable.

Or that tiny.

But he is premature...so I suppose there is a reason for his small size. Still, babies are supposed to be little demons, not adorable-

Oh,

Demons.

I am an idiot for not remembering that.

I sigh and reach a single ghostly finger to poke the sleeping baby’s face.

I had expected it to go through him, so imagine my surprise when it connected with a solid, and alive, cheek. My eyes widened, while my brain goes off on a tangent about all the different possibilities and ways to exploit them. Gaara proceeds to open his eyes and give out a small cry.

It’s all very adorable really.

Though I doubt he has the energy to manage something louder, if I recall correctly, he’d always been one of few words.

Well, he did happen to be a sacrificial demon container, also known as a jinchuuriki. I’m not entirely sure on whether Shukaku is insane or not, he acts pretty crazy most of the time with surprising moments of seriousness. My theory is that Shukaku isn’t insane, his personality is just like that, and shit hits the fan, he becomes serious. So a note to self:

If Shukaku’s serious then go into self-preservation mode level max.

The one time he seems sane is when all the bijuu are saved somewhere when Madara is trying to take over the world via the Tsukuyomi.

Bad times indeed.

After finding out that Gaara is an extremely adorable baby I moved on to find out what else I could do. I tried floating objects, but that failed spectacularly. I even tried to hug Rasa, though my dislike for him may have prevented me from really trying too hard. He didn’t even bat an eyelash when I then tried punching him in the face. Trying to mess with other people proceeded to yield the same results.

So people are out, objects?

It turns out that I can’t affect objects either, I just phase through them. I’d also spent several minutes trying to lift a syringe, it didn’t even budge a millimeter. I could definitely stab someone right now.

I’ve been a ghost for several minutes and I’m already frustrated. Like is Gaara the only person I can interact with?

Wait, he's the only person…

No one else can see me.

Or touch me, which is a relief because this is the world of ninjas, I'd get massacred before I can even get a word in.

So I can’t touch anyone without phasing through them.

But I can with Gaara.

Oh my, the possibilities of a floating baby, how hazardous~!!!

On second thought, that really isn't safe because Gaara is a major character. He is the future Kazekage and the only person that is capable of staving off my boredom at the moment. He is also the character that likes squishing people with sand, thank god I’m a ghost. The consequences of him dying early is not one that I want to face, but I’m not too keen that the only person I can talk to is a mentally traumatized child.

Like he starts off talking about his “Mother” during the chuunin exams.

Mother…

They never did specify who the identity of “Mother” was, did they? People just assumed that it was Shukaku. It never was explicitly stated...this requires further thought.

As I am pondering, and laughing maniacally, the medic-nin finally regains his wits and leaves the room. I suddenly feel a sudden force dragging me to the door, it’s like someone tied ropes to my entire body and yanked. My feet float off the ground and I have no choice but to follow wherever the medic is going.

_‘Hey, HEY! What are you doing to me?’_

There was no reply, it’s not as if he can hear me, so it probably isn’t him that the force is coming from. I look at Gaara reproachfully.

He has his eyes wide open following my movements,

_‘I really wanted to explore Suna, you know? Now I can’t and it’s all your fault~!’_

Gaara gives me a small happy gurgle and I completely melted.

Why me?

I hate children

But he’s adorable…

Resist the urge to coo-resisttheurgetocooRESISTTHEURGETOCOO…

Resist. The. Urge.

I coo at him,

_‘I hope that you’re happy you little demonic child.’_

He happily waved his arms back at me. The medic nin seems confused as to what made him so happy and so they walk faster towards a door down the hall. It’s like they’re trying to get rid of Gaara as quickly as possible.

Really now, isn't that surprising?

They’re all monsters for not seeing him as the adorable child he is, it’s like they’re blind or something…

…

Ok, I’ll stop.

When they reach the door they opened it and went inside. I had to float in through the door because they shut it in my face, that bastard.

Inside was an incubation room containing quite a few other babies. I went around observing them while the medic-nin talked to some of the nurses about what they were supposed to do with Gaara. It’s all very boring so I ignore him in favor of trying to elicit a response from them. I had no such luck, instead, they started crying and wailing when my hands phase through them. I suppose that babies are more sensitive to the supernatural than adults. They still can’t see me like Gaara can though…

The medic left after giving the Kazekage’s instructions to the nurses and one of them came over to settle Gaara in one of the incubators. He went to sleep soon after that, I suppose that being born is exhausting. They left after that, only to come in after he woke up and started crying for food. After feeding him and then leaving him again I tried to entertain myself with making faces at people

It really isn’t fun at all.

I’ve never been this bored in my entire life and death combined, just grow up already dammit, it’s not fair that I can’t go off to explore!

_‘Man, I feel for all the tailed beasts, this is so boring and I can actually see and sort of do things when they are confined to simply seeing whatever their Jinjuriki can,’ I yawn, ‘I wish I could fall asleep...boredom is tiring.’_

* * *

 

Gaara’s Mindscape

* * *

 

_‘Huh, so this is what happens when I close my eyes for an extended period of time, good to know.’_

**_‘Why are you here human?’_ **

I turn around, already knowing full and well who it is. I didn’t forget about him, no, I’ve been waiting for him to announce his presence all along.

_‘Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you Shukaku~’_


	2. Games of Concentration And What Else?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Main Character finally meets Shukaku and they play a game of Concentration that quickly goes south. Or southwest if you want to be specific.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm assuming that people will apply the disclaimer in the previous chapter to this and the rest of the chapters as well. If they aren't, well, please apply the disclaimer to previous and all future chapters, thanks.
> 
> Also, sorry about the cliffhanger in the previous chapter, it seemed like a pretty good place to end that one then.

**Previously:**

_‘Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you Shukaku~’_

* * *

 

**_‘Why are you here, human?’_ **

I raise an eyebrow, examining the chains that held him in place while I try to keep the other eyebrow down, they are quite impressive,

_‘So I’m not allowed to be here? Where is here anyway?’_

Shukaku doesn’t look very amused at my flippant answer and shift in his chains to get a better view of me. He seems only annoyed at the moment, and really, humans never mattered that much to him, so...

**_‘Answering a question with a question is not an answer.’_ **

I really hope he doesn’t tear free of those chains and kill me for what would be the second time that I die-can I even die again since I am already dead?

But here goes ‘cuz I’m an idiot with absolutely no self-preservation, this has been hinted at during my mini-rant about how dying sucks.

Let it be known that my snark knows no bounds, not even with the threat of a very painful death.

_‘Well actually, I asked two questions, and I really do want them answered. So if you would humor me?’_

Shukaku looks mildly surprised that a mere human would actually demand answers from him, a bijuu. Probably because no one has bothered to really talk back to him, except for maybe that monk. Speaking of the monk, wasn't he Shukaku's first jinchuuriki? I remember Shukaku had accepted and respected him somewhat when he died, I wonder if I can get Shukaku to like me too...

**_‘Hmmph...we are in my container’s mindscape.’_ **

Whew, he looks amused more than upset that I’m being rude. Maybe it’s because I’m something interesting, I’ve discovered that boredom can be a great motivator,

_‘You know, I’ve always been under the impression that you are supposed to be insane. But you are surprisingly down to earth right now.’_

Shukaku isn’t laughing crazily or anything, he’s just looking at me with a slight tilt to his gigantic head, I swear that he’s staring at my soul.

Oh wait,

I’m a ghost so this is my soul.

Whoops.

Moving on after a somewhat lengthy pause on my part,

_‘I’m his mother don’t you see?’_

Yup, definitely explains my presence in Gaara’s mind.

You can almost hear the crickets chirping, though there should be no crickets in Suna.

What surprises me is how Shukaku then throws back his head and laughs uproariously at my comment, was I really that funny? I never pegged myself to be the funny type, but more of the sarcastic and the "would you look at that, other people's pain is hilarious" type.

He calms down eventually and replies,

**_‘His mother? Ha, you look nothing more than a child yourself! I spent nearly nine months with that woman, you do not have her chakra.’_ **

And then leans down to closer to better inspect me with one ginormous starry eye that is easily larger than me,

**_‘You actually don’t have any chakra…’_ **

I sigh,

_‘Thought as much, a spirit does not have physical energy...wait do I have spiritual energy? Like yin energy?’_

If Shukaku could move his limbs, he’d be facepalming right about now,

**_‘You’re a spirit, of course you have spiritual energy.’_ **

_‘Then why did you say I have no chakra?’_

Cue Shukaku trying to facepalm again,

**_‘Because you don’t, chakra is the mix of spiritual and physical energy.’_ **

****Well that made me feel really stupid, maybe dying has addled my brains...my _intangible_ brains. Might as well declare them nonexistent at this point for all the good that they're doing me.

_‘Oh. Spiritual energy is used in genjutsu, right?’_

**_‘Yes’_** Shukaku's only slightly hesitant to answer my question this time, maybe I am making a good impression.

_‘Awesome! I can use genjutsu!’_

I don't need a poster on the various facial expressions of a bijuu and their meanings to know that Shukaku is definitely exasperated with my enthusiasm, I suppose that I’m only delaying the inevitable,

**_‘That still doesn’t explain how you are my container’s mother.’_ **

_‘Oh right, that. I never said that I am his biological mother, I’m his adoptive mother~!’_

Was I always this awkward and insignificant? Wait, where did insignificant come from?!!

 **_‘I should just eat you.’_ **  Huh, never realized that a bijuu’s face could look that blank, he’s not impressed.

Oh who am I kidding, of course he is not impressed, you pea-brained dolt!

Great now I am insulting myself, Shukaku is really good at projecting his disdain towards humans...or is this all me? 

_‘Don’t you dare mister! I swear I’ll give you indigestion for the rest of eternity!’_

Shukaku laughs again, this time the ground shakes with him,

**_‘HAHAhAHaHAhaha! You’ve got plenty of pluck I’ll give you that, though from foolishness or bravery I do not know.’_ **

I put a hand on my chest, acting as if I am miffed by the very idea,

_‘There is a fine line between being brave and being a fool, I think myself a bit of both. And please don't murder the poor ground, what has it done to you?’_

**_‘Ooh~ A philosopher as well it would seem...what do you mean that I am murdering the ground?’_ **

I look up at the sky in exasperation. It’s red.

 _‘So what do you do in here?’_ I change the topic, the current one has exhausted itself.

**_‘Nothing, there isn’t anything to do.’_ **

I gape at Shukaku in a dignified manner, yes dignified, with newfound respect,

_‘How are you still sane?’_

This time I am certain that my intelligence assessment has taken a nosedive,

**_‘You believe that I’m sane?’_ **

_‘Good point,’_ I reply, _‘So how about we play a word game to pass the time?’_

 ** _‘Hmmm? Sure, why not?’_  **He'd kept an eye on me for the entire conversation, clearly, I am still considered a threat. What happened to the part about how Shukaku thinks humans are worthless? Wait, that was Kurama, Shukaku just has a dislike for them.

_‘Alright, it’s called Concentration-’_

**_‘Concentration? What a stupid name’_ **

****Annoyed at how he's finding fault in everything that I do, I reply with more than a little sass,

_‘Yes I know, here’s how it goes…’_

 

_‘Concentration_

_Sixty-four_

_No repeats,_

_Or hesitation,_

_Category is:_

_Everything!’_

Surprise, surprise! Someone is  _not_ participating.

**_‘This is so stupid…’_ **

****Finally losing my patience, I forget that he is literally a manifestation of demonic chakra that could probably vaporize me had he not been sealed,

_‘You’ve said that already, now repeat after me-’_

And he does, I appreciate the gesture, even if it had unwilling.

 **_‘C_ ** _o_ **_n_ ** _c_ **_e_ ** _n_ **_t_ ** _r_ **_a_ ** _t_ **_i_ ** _o_ **_n_ **

_S_ **_i_ ** _x_ **_t_ ** _y-_ **_f_ ** _o_ **_u_ ** _r_

 **_N_ ** _o_ **_r_ ** _e_ **_p_ ** _e_ **_a_ ** _t_ **_s,_ **

_O_ **_r_ ** _h_ **_e_ ** _s_ **_i_ ** _t_ **_a_ ** _t_ **_i_ ** _o_ **_n,_ **

_C_ **_a_ ** _t_ **_e_ ** _g_ **_o_ ** _r_ **_y_ ** _i_ **_s:_ **

_E_ **_v_ ** _e_ **_r_ ** _y_ **_t_ ** _h_ **_i_ ** _n_ **_g…’_ **

**_‘Death,’_ ** Shukaku starts us off

‘ _Ghosts,’_ I counter

Shukaku grins,

**_‘Blood’_ **

_‘Stab wounds,’_ I reply flippantly

Shukaku’s grin only grows wider, I hope the top of his head doesn't fall off because the edges of his mouth stretched too far,

**_‘Corpses’_ **

I roll my eyes, of course he is going to prod at how I'm dead,

_‘Sacrifices’_

‘ **_Idiots,’_ ** His smile disappears and his brows draw closer together in annoyance.

Is it just me or is he constantly annoyed? Also, since when did he have eyebrows?

_‘Demons’_

Shukaku is downright snarling now, maybe I pushed too far?

**_‘Mortals’_ **

_‘Sandy Wandy,’_ I say in a sing-song voice, still in the rhyme’s rhythm. Now I'm really pushing it.

 **_‘Your life,’_ ** Shukaku threatens, no longer amused at the childish game.

I drive my last barb home,

_‘Your intelligence’_

**_‘SHUT UP,’_ ** Shukaku roars.

And wasn't that loud...my ears may have died somewhere after the "h" and before the "u".

 _‘That isn’t a thing,’_ I answer innocently, _‘Oh well, I guess I win then~’_

 **_‘I don’t care,’_ ** He looks peeved, very peeved.

Surely me winning the game isn't enough to make him sulk, is it?

 _‘Alright, I’m just going to sit here then…’_ I sit down awkwardly

**_“Do what you want.’_ **

Shukaku still seems upset and I’m not stupid enough to anger a bijuu. Or I am, but not any further than he is already since my luck has probably run out,

_‘Ok’_

**_‘No, it’s not ok’_  **Is the upset reply I get.

 _‘You know, you’re not that terrible.’_ That sounded so cheesy. And weird, I hope he isn’t too offended...

**_‘Why, thank you human, your opinion matters so much to me.’_ **

I ignore his overly sarcastic remark, coming from him, it's basically a declaration of eternal love and forgiveness. Ewww...

_‘The insanity is just an act, isn’t it?’_

It would seem that I’ve hit the nail on the head, Shukaku twitches but otherwise does not say anything,

**_‘...’_ **

My messed up humor decides that now would be a good time to come back full force and I try to remain silent suppressing my urge to giggle crazily,

_‘Mphtt...’_

**_‘Shut up, human!’_** But the demand had no heat behind it, almost as if he didn't really mean it...

Maybe I've made some progress after all.

My stay in this world just got a lot more interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading another chapter!!!
> 
> Comments? Critique?  
> Oh and is anyone willing to beta this fic? I do try to eliminate as many errors as I can...buuuut knowing me that is just failing pretty spectacularly.
> 
> Mizudoriko
> 
> P.S. Anyone who wants a fic that has better grammar and stuff should definitely go visit my elder sister Tavina on Fanfiction.net. She has a wonderful fanfiction called Bloodless that is also in the Naruto fandom.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaara says his first and second word, it's a pity that Yashamaru can't take a joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, there is a minor time skip of seven months, most of the time was spent having conversations and playing games with Shukaku. Gaara has been taken out of the hospital and is living with Yashamaru.

_ ‘Gaara,'   _ Who am I kidding, t his has been going on for weeks. It's not his fault for being a baby, even I don't know when children should start saying their first words. Giving up while I'm ahead and saving the energy for later sounds like a good idea at this point.

But of course, me being me, can not stand for doing nothing.

That and my wish for Gaara to be more than that quiet little child in the corner. So, we're starting the talking business early on, and maybe mental conditioning later...It really wouldn't do if he were to be naive, the Kazekage would just exploit that for his own means. Thankfully, Japanese is my first language, so I don't have to learn a whole new language by listening to people, or person since only Yashamaru ever visits. That would have been a nightmare. But maybe I should teach him English too when he's old enough to understand keeping secrets. Talking about my plans with Shukaku is surprisingly helpful, but then, he is a centuries old bijuu with a whole megaton of fuinjutsu knowledge dating back to the Sage. I really do need to get him to teach me seals and figure out how he drives people insane, Rasa and the rest of Suna are definitely getting it.

“Ga?” 

I’m not sure if he’s actually trying to say his own name or is just babbling nonsensical syllables…

With an almighty sigh and accepting that maybe it  _is_ a little too early to be starting this, I concede defeat. Shukaku is going to laugh at me for this later, I just know it.

_ ‘Good enough I suppose,’  _ H e’s just a baby, he’ll start talking in his own time.

But definitely earlier if I have any say in the matter.

“Goo?” He’s actually trying really hard to copy what I say, maybe I shouldn't give up?

Deciding that there is some truth to the saying, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained,' I try a different approach,

_ ‘Say Mother, Mo-ther,’ _

“Ma?”

_ ‘Mo-ther,’  _ I reiterate.

“Ma-ma?” Pretty good, but not good enough...or maybe it is just me and my overly high standards. Whoever said that parenting is easy deserves to be stabbed with a rusty spoon. Viciously.

_ ‘Mo-’  _ I make sure to enunciate clearly,  _ ‘-ther’ _

“Mo!” Great, one syllable down and one more to go.

_ ‘-Ther,’  _ I say again

“Tha?” Close enough

_ ‘Mo-ther,’ _ I put the two together, hoping that he'll understand what I'm trying to get him to do.

“Motha?” 

Is that what I am now? A moth? My self-esteem has taken critical damage, froma _baby_.

I give one last try,

_ ‘Mo-ther, mother’  _

“Mother!” He actually managed it, I'm pleasantly surprised at this turn of events. Maybe teaching him other words is not so much of a loft goal after all.

_ ‘Too...cute...brain...overload-’  _

I see why parents want their children’s first words to be about them, but there is only a faint trace of guilt for I manipulating him into doing it. 

Just slightly.

Now it’s time to carry out my master plan...now, where is Yashamaru?

Gaara's adorable baby face frowns in concern at my more than a little deranged laughter. Maybe I can teach him that too, it'll be a great diversion tactic.

* * *

 

Yashamaru walks in soon after Gaara’s little outburst of attempting to talk. 

Probably because Gaara was being loud, usually very uncharacteristic of him, unless it pertains to me in which he is very loud and enthusiastic. Although that may be because I actually play with him and keep him company when no one else does. *cough* Yashamaru may or may not be neglecting his job*cough* He’s rather well-behaved for someone who's only seven months old.  

Like really, he’s a child people, stop treating him like a ticking bomb. 

Well, he is like a bomb. A very lethal bomb chock full of demonic chakra that can-oh joy-melt the skin of your bones and bijuudamas that can vaporize you and your surroundings off the face of this earth. Yup, not dangerous at all.

But that’s Shukaku’s fault. 

When in doubt, blame it all on Shukaku.

Back to Yashamaru walking in, I hold out my arms to Gaara while kneeling on the ground, making sure that my angle allows me to see Yashamaru's face.

_ ‘Say Mother, Gaara~’  _ I say while holding back laughter, this is going to be good,  _ ‘Mother.’ _

His face lights up and he crawls over to me as fast as he could with the minimal control he has on his limbs. I’d learned over the months that Gaara loves hugs. Probably because his short span of life has been pretty much devoid of human contact, and I really don’t count as a human. I am a spirit and there is most definitely a difference. But hugs from me are apparently better than other people hugging him, so he tries to get as many from me as possible. It’s his way of making up for all the missed hugs. 

So young and already trying to cope, I need to get better at the whole mothering business and fast. No child of mine, blood-related or not, is going to grow up unstable. Well, not emotionally unstable, I can't be held accountable for what happens to his sanity when I myself have been exposed too much to Shukaku's  _interesting_ personality.

I use hugs as a reward system for whenever he does something particularly smart or something I approve of. 

Positive reinforcement people, it works.

“Mother!” Gaara cries enthusiastically holding his arms out for a hug. Acquiescing, I wrap my ghostly arms around him in a tight hug as he happily babbles nonsensical syllables. A smile of satisfaction forms as I watch Yashamaru face rapidly pale when he finally registers Gaara hugging air after his cry of “Mother”. Gaara’s biological mother was his older sister, and as such, he’s in shock. 

Vengeance partially exacted.

“G-Gaara-sama…” Yashamaru began weakly, “What did you just say?”

Gaara overjoyed that someone is paying attention to him, claps his hands together while proudly exclaiming his first word,

“Mother! Mother! Mother!”

Such a smart boy~

Yashamaru doesn't seem to find any enthusiasm in his nephew's first word pales even further while I cackle gleefully. The small child unwittingly causing his panic attack is confused, looking at me and Yashamaru, probably wondering why we are reacting to his words with emotional extremes. Deciding that he approves of my reaction because in his mind making me laugh is a good thing, he waves his hands excitedly decides to repeat his first word over and over again in hopes of approval.

I'm practically rolling on the floor at this point.

In midst of all this pandemonium, such a pity that Gaara is the only one that can see this, Yashamaru doesn’t find this amusing. But hey, I’m the one that Gaara likes this time! Sure he likes Yashamaru as well, but I’m his favorite. If he had to choose between the two of us he’d definitely choose me over Yashamaru.

Take that Yashamaru! He’s your nephew and he likes me more!

Insert some off-key cackling.

Oh right, I’m his mother...moving on.

After spending months with little to no human interaction, my sanity is bound to start deteriorating. While amusing myself with a baby can relieve some of the boredom, it gets old quickly and I’d have to find other means. One of those ways is talking to Shukaku. While he hasn’t completely lost his marbles, he’s pretty darn close. Spending about a century in a teapot’s bound to leave a mark. But hearing about how he got into that teapot is really,  _really_ interesting. I think my enthusiasm about his teapot was a little alarming for him because he never mentioned a teapot again in our conversations.

Maybe it was me saying that he'd look great having a couple of them for earrings? But of course he would need more than two on one ear, his ears are ginormous and they'd definitely fit...it's probably the piercings I suggested, some of them were a bit questionable. It was all in good fun, though he clearly does not share my sentiments. Well, if he won't get teapot earring then fine, I'll get Gaara to get some at some point.

Despite all that, he’s a surprisingly insightful and wise person, being, thing? No, no, no, Shukaku does not deserve to be called a thing. He’s a demon and demons are definitely not things. They are beings, or Shukaku is a being because convincing me that a Tanuki is a person will never happen. There is a reason why they are called raccoon dogs! Namely, they bear a resemblance to both. But yes, I talked with Shukaku most of the time. We played word games, told riddles, and sang insanely long songs. I remembered some pretty annoying songs and modified them, like one thousand bottles of sake. Shukaku hates that one and would usually complain when I sing it, he starts screaming at me if I shriek it off tune at the top of my ghostly lungs. 

Looks like I found leverage to use against him.

Come one, come all! It has now been scientifically proven, if you spend several months with a mostly insane demon, you tend to become partially insane as well! Isn't that just shocking news? And if you don’t become insane then there’s something insanely wrong with you, thus making you insane. There is no other way around it.

Is it wrong of me to say that I honestly enjoy Shukaku’s company?

It is mostly the human’s fault that the tailed beasts want to destroy them.

After all, humans kill each other all the time, so why does it suddenly matter when a tailed beast kills them? Because it is easy for the bijuu to slaughter all of them? Then what does it make humans with what we do to animals? Really, we are such hypocrites. 

I had shared my thoughts on this matter with Shukaku, but he only looked at me with a strange expression on his face and didn’t reply. I assume that is a sore topic, he is the one forced to spend centuries in solitary confinement after all, and so I didn’t bring it up again. Really, sentencing the bijuu to lifetimes of solitude is not helping the humans in forming any sort of peace with them. And borrowing their power? It’s like an unusually smart animal sealed a ninja away and used their power. And if that ever happened to pass, it suddenly becomes not alright, but when it comes to bijuu it is justified?

Anyway, I went on a tangent there, Yashamaru is going to suffocate if he insists on holding his breath.

“A-ah, your mother, I-I-I see...haha…” Yashamaru laughs weakly when he finally remembered that he needed to breathe, “S-so Gaara, what d-do y-you mean b-b-by mother?”

Ha, what else could he mean lowly mortal?

Oh no, Shukaku really is rubbing off on me, dammit he must never know or he’ll lord it over me for the rest of my existence.

Gaara simply stares at Yashamaru, not comprehending his words or nervousness. His blank expression is rather disconcerting if one isn’t well versed in all the minutiae of them. But if you’re me, you know the meaning behind every single one of them. Like the one he’s wearing now is his “what-the-heck-are-you-saying-I-don’t-understand-your-adult-language” face. It fits well in this situation, he literally doesn’t understand a word Yashamaru is saying other than that “Gaara” means him and “Mother” is something I like him saying. 

He’s only seven months people, and still an adorable baby! Though he’d still be an adorable child even as a teen until he reaches fourteen or something. Then adorable wouldn’t exactly fit...I need to find a word for it later, or I’d run out of adjectives to describe him. Right now, I consider his first word a great achievement on my part. Maybe his next should be Shukaku, I owe it to the demon and it would cheer him up. Not that he’d admit it to anyone.

So when Yashamaru asks him questions and expects him to understand it, it really doesn't make sense.

Logic, Yashamaru, it is something that a shinobi must have.

Wait no, you have plenty of logic, common sense is what you lack.

Gaara, being the sensible child that knows his baby talk won’t get his message across uses his facial expressions to tell Yashamaru that he doesn’t understand a single word that came out of his mouth. So he tries to pull even more facial expressions to convey his message, right now they're getting repeatedly more exasperated frustrated. He probably doesn't understand why Yashamaru doesn't get him when I do, and the only reason why I do is that I literally can't leave his presence. Too bad that Yashamaru can’t even distinguish between his “I’m-happy” face and his “I-don’t-like-what-you-are-doing” face. So when it comes to this kind of situation much is lost in translation and Yashamaru gets the message of: “I’m-a-demon-influenced-child-that-wants-to-kill-you-right-now”

Like really? No, Yashamaru, stop jumping to all the wrong conclusions!

“Gaara-sama?” Yes, Yashamaru is clearly unfit for the job of taking care of this adorable child.

“Ga? Gagagaga!” He’s such a happy and hyperactive child at this age, though sometimes he’s too quiet. He’s also a tiny child, I’m getting worried that he won’t be tall enough later in his life. Who am I kidding, if he's not tall enough I'll force feed him vegetables until it's remedied.

Ah, the woes that come with motherhood.

Yashamaru relaxes, finally catching on that Gaara is not possessed. Though it definitely took him too long. Perhaps I should schedule some training sessions for him, he can't do his job properly if he can't even tell if his charge is possessed or not. Not to mention he really should have realized that no demon would belittle themselves by stooping low enough to allow baby talk. It is considered beneath them to even try this as an escape method. 

Believe me, if Shukaku ever tries this then the world is ending.

Funny how that works out to be Kaguya's resurrection and the Infinite Tsukuyomi

“Ra! Ra!” Gaara is still trying, probably to make Yashamaru happy and stop looking constipated.

_ ‘It’s Gaara, Gaa-ra,’ _ I say, Shukaku can have his third word, the little bundle of joy can have his moment to shine.

He looks at me with bright teal eyes in intense concentration, he’s going to want another hug for this,

“Ga? Ga-ra?”

I smile softly, _ ‘Gaa-ra.’ _

“Gaara,” he chirps back at me.

_ ‘Good boy, you did it little one,’ _ I ruffle his hair while he tries to stop me with an undeniably cute pout. He breaks down laughing when I tickle him to get him to stop.

Yashamaru looks confused as to why Gaara is suddenly laughing while seeming to try to bat away invisible hands. I should probably stop, don’t want people to think that Gaara is insane. Though he really is kind of mentally unstable. It comes from an unstable childhood, there is only so much I can do to shield him from the horrors of this world. Thankfully, there aren’t very many traumatizing that he can be exposed to at such a young age.

Yashamaru, being the kind of person he is, manages a small smile,

“Yes, that’s right. Your name is Gaara.”

“Gaara! Gaara!” I swear to god that children should not be that adorable. My previous experience with them is neutral at best. 

The little horrors.

Yashamaru relaxes and tries to ruffle Gaara’s hair, dismissing the previous oddness. 

Keyword being  _ tried. _

He didn’t succeed as a shield of sand stopped his hand from ever reaching Gaara. He pulls his hand back quickly as if it had been burned while Gaara watched the sand with wide eyes. So his sand defense mechanism starts this early, protective much, Shukaku?

Gaara’s face falls when he sees the distant look on his uncle’s face and starts to cry. Even while crying, he's almost silent with tears streaming down his face, I don’t blame him, children are often more perceptive than most would think. And I should know, I was one of them. The quiet kid in the corner of the classroom, always writing something in her notebook, drawing in a sketchbook, or just reading a book.

I pull Gaara into another hug as he breaks out into sobs, rubbing at his eyes with his tiny fists.

“ M-mother!” Maybe he actually does know what it means, or he thinks that it’s my name and I taught him it so he knows what to call me like I taught him that he is “Gaara”. It’s probably the last one since it makes the most sense.

I glare at Yashamaru, while Gaara may not be my biological child, I did adopt him, dammit. It should not be mentioned that I was only thirteen when murdered, so having children was a definite no. But I'm dead now and will stay that way for god knows how long and as my adopted child I have every right to be upset about his mistreatment. And I’m actually fourteen years older than him at the moment, which gives me seniority rights, no one makes him cry without facing my wrath! 

I try to console Gaara by patting his hair soothingly while still hugging him, but he keeps on sobbing.

This obviously does not sit well with me, and Kami help Yashamaru for what he has done.

Righteous Wrath of a Mother Effect Activate!!!

All stats boosted by 50%!

I let go of Gaara and stalk towards Yashamaru, fury rising with each step. Something in me snaps as unadulterated power floods my system. It feels heavy, nothing at all like my spiritual energy which is lighter than air. I look down towards my limbs, surprised to find them opaque and seemingly solid instead of its normal translucent appearance. Armed with this new turn of events, I form a plan.

And then I see red. Actually, I don't because I really don't like the color red all that much, I prefer blue, thank you very much. But saying that you're seeing blue just doesn't sound right, so I guess I'm stuck with red for now.

I lunge at Yashamaru and the sheer speed in which I travel makes it look as if I teleported right in front of him. Or maybe it's me exaggerating and just running really fast, but hey the way I said it sounds a lot cooler than 'I ran really fast because I'm actually really short'.I hang in the air for a single moment, one fist cocked back as far as it could go. Which is really not far at all since my flexibility is really, really bad.

Not holding back, I let it fly straight into Yashamaru’s face. Here's to hoping never training a day in my life will do something against an Anbu level ninja, yeah right that'll go over  _so_ well. He can't do anything to my physically though, so that's a comfort.

It connects, his head snaps back and imagine my shock when he gets launched into the door, was he that off guard? Or was it because I am just that awesome?

Immediately afterwards he is upright again with one arm diagonally in front holding a kunai, the other limb angled slightly behind the first.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

Well what do you know, he does have ninja training, with his soft-heartedness I'd begun to fear that he'd lost his touch.

Unable to stop myself from rolling my eyes, I sigh, it’s not as if I have control over who sees me. Besides, even if I knew how I wouldn’t be so stupid as to show myself to an ANBU level ninja. I may be a spirit, but surely there are ways to banish me from this plane of existence, there must be a reason that I haven’t encountered any others like me. Or maybe the Shinigami is feeling lenient when I died, be it the former or the latter, I have no interest in “dying” again. I have a sneaking suspicion that fuinjutsu can do a lot of damage to my soul. If it can seal up a  _bijuu_  and raise the dead then what can it do to a powerless soul of a thirteen nearly fourteen-year-old girl? On that note, will I age as a spirit?

Only time will tell.

However, my previous actions and Yashamaru's reaction gives me an idea, I draw upon my memory on the feeling of that unexplainable rush of power.

Seemingly from a great distance, I can barely hear Gaara’s small proclamation of surprise at something while I get tunnel vision.

Is that steam?  _Blue_ steam?! Awesome, I've always wanted to emit blue steam-wait  _I'm_ emitting blue steam?!!!

No matter, I will myself to float upwards, a nifty trick that I find my spirit self able to do, and lean forward to whisper sweet words in his ear,

_ ‘You will regret ever hurting my son, Yashamaru’ _

This apparently is the last straw for Yashamaru since the events of the morning seemed to have been taking a toll on his fortitude for strange things happening around Gaara. After what remaining blood in the upper part of his body drained away at those words, he promptly faints.

Gaara, on the other hand, looks concerned that his uncle just flopped over like he died and is poking at him hesitantly. This manages to revive Yashamaru, who upon waking to his nephew’s sand stabbing his side quite painfully, is now preoccupied with assuring an upset Gaara that he is still very much alive.

The poor man is quite a concerning shade of grey, and he opens then closes his mouth several times before finally managing to get one word out of vocal cords who seem to have forgotten how to do their job properly,

“K-K-Karura?”

I really didn’t expect him to say that, though the “motherly” vibes I gave off while socking him in the jaw may have pointed him in a direction that I haven’t even considered yet. It really isn’t much of a stretch since Karura  _ is _ Yashamaru’s sister and Gaara’s biological mother. Plus, I did call Gaara my "son", no need for them to know that he's adopted/

The wheels in my head are whirring at impossible speeds right now, the possibilities of using this in my favor are endless. Mostly trolling the rest of Gaara’s family, or maybe the entire village, Kami knows that they deserve it for all that they’re going to put Gaara through. And oh my lord trolling  _Madara_ , that would just make my existence so much brighter. But Zetsu, that guy needs watching, I don't know if he can sense me and he's definitely dangerous.

But for now, I can impersonate Karura and no one would know any better. It’s not as if they can see me, so there is a chance of actually pulling this off.

If only I know how to impersonate Karura, we're not the same people and I don't want to act out of character...

This is going to be so much fun =)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it would be prudent for me to note that this fic was inspired by the song, "Happy Halloween" by Juby Phonic? Well sort of inspired, I can totally see the main character singing it.
> 
> Mizudoriko


End file.
